Choosing Hope: A Review Of The Novel “Golden Child.”

I recently read Clare Adam’s debut novel Golden Child and was left feeling cold inside. One word comes to mind: WOW. A newer release, published in the winter of 2019 by SJP for Hogarth, Adam’s book leads the reader down a treacherous road of love and betrayal, unrealistic expectations and shattered family relationships.

The story takes place in rural Trinidad and focuses around the lives of two twin boys named Peter and Paul and their family. Peter is normal. Through complications at birth, Paul is not. The boys parents Clyde and Joy are divided when it comes to their kids. Peter is the great hope for the family and Paul is portrayed as the great burden with his bizarre ticks and behaviors. The boys father favors Peter because of his intellect. The boys mother is protective of Paul. Both parents place their hope in Peter making something good of his life and getting out of Trinidad.

Through tragedy the boys family comes into a large sum of money from the death of their mother’s brother who was a doctor. This causes problems within her family as her other brother becomes obsessed and jealous with the money left to her and her family. Clyde decides that the money will be used toward Peter’s educational future. One day Paul comes home from school and goes off for a walk never to be seen again. The heart break that follows is beyond words.

The book is well written though the story itself is hard to take. Your heart strings will be pulled out, especially if you are a parent. The author does a fantastic job of expressing cultural vernacular and paints a vibrant picture of the background of the story. I found myself emotionally engaged in the drama that unfolds all the way till the end. It is a very sad story to read with zero closure to it but not all stories can end nice and neat. If you are looking for a suspenseful and emotional roller-coaster of a read this is your book.

Disclaimer- I write for fun and am in no way paid for my observations, musings, ramblings, or reviews.

Note: Image above was photographed by me. I mean seriously, taking a photo of a book is almost just as fun as writing about a book.